Napier’s deputy mayor has hit out at Mayor Richard McGrath’s failed proposal to exclude mana whenua voices and voting rights in the council’s standing committees for the term.
Deputy mayor Sally Crown described the move as a “gross misjudgment and disrespect”.
About 100 people filled the public gallery of a Napier City Council meeting on Thursday, including former Mayor Kirsten Wise, after word got around of the possibility of a change to Māori representation on council committees.
It led to tense scenes as some heckled McGrath as he made attempts to defend his proposal, in just his third full council meeting as mayor.
Standing committees are permanent committees established by local authorities to handle specific areas of council business throughout the elected term.
Last triennium, there were two Nga Mānukanuka o te iwi representatives – representing a mana whenua voice – on each of the four standing committees. This year, there would be two standing committees – the Corporate & Performance Committee and the Delivery & Regulatory Performance Committee.
McGrath said he had not removed anyone and was establishing new committees.
“The reason for my decision is to have elected members, who have attended meetings and workshops, making decisions,” McGrath said.
When asked for a reason why he hadn’t considered the risk to relations under the Treaty of Waitangi, McGrath said “can’t think of one”.
Crown told the meeting the mayor’s proposal had blindsided councillors.
“The proposal was a demonstration of gross misjudgment and disrespect,” Crown said. “Not just of our mana whenu partners but also of our elected members. A key part of leadership is to bring people along with you, and I have heard from elected members that they have been blindsided by the proposal that was presented.”
She said there was no heads-up or discussion with councillors, and it was arguably taking advantage of the fact that close to half of the team were new.
“Changing the order of the agenda, when we know there was significant interest in the item, feeds into the perception of looking at reducing the ability of our public to engage on this.”
Māori Ward Councillor Shyann Raihania asked the Mayor what consultation had taken place with mana whenua before the proposal was changed, and requested that the Mayor outline the step-by-step process that led to the decision to amend it.
McGrath again said it hadn’t been amended, it was a new structure.
He said he had spoken to a few people and then, “as the mayor, he had put it together and put it around the table here”.
Raihana asked for an amendment to the proposal, including retaining Ngā Mānukanuka o te Iwi appointments on all standing committees as specialist voting members with full speaking rights.
She also requested the mayor engage with Ngā Mānukanuka o te Iwi members as mandated mana whenua representatives and return with a revised terms of reference, including options and legal advice.
The amended proposal was put to the vote with six votes for and four against.
Applause and cheers from the public gallery followed the vote.
The Vote
For: Whare Isaac-Sharland, Sally Crown, Keith Price, Ronda Chrystal, Shyann Raihania and Graeme Taylor
Against: Craig Morley, Nigel Simpson, Richard McGrath and Roger Brownlie.
Abstained: Te Kira Lawrence and Greg Mawson
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Richard, it’s well known and mentioned all over this forum that Sally is and has been proven to be underhanded and corrupt. Also, that current committee pushed through so many dodgy stuff under Chad, Kirsten and co, one of the many reasons they stood down or got the boot. These are the people you need to look out for, who, if you dig deeper, have seriously flawed agendas and their own (abit racig) personal interests at heart: Whare Isaac-Sharland, Sally Crown, Keith Price, Ronda Chrystal, Shyann Raihania and Graeme Taylor.
Good luck fighting for equality with them around. But well done to start. Now, put it to a vote and let’s do it again in 2026. The majority of people are with you. Enjoy your Christmas break.
What utter nonsense, or flawed agendas. Like McGrath you can barely string a comprehensible sentence together. There is no corruption, or underhanded tactics, all Council meetings are filmed and available to watch, the Mayor has one vote and each Councillor has one vote on all matters which are ratified through a fair and democratic process. McGrath was well out of his depth and proved his incompetence as Mayor. The room was silent with embarrassment as McGrath failed to articulate or even make sense, he was democratically voted down and I suspect that will set the tone of his one term, if commissioners don’t take over within the three year term that is.
The community voted against the Maori seats am not sure why the Council thinks they can just ignore it’s residents so blatantly and disrespectfully.
The voices of Maori have the same voting rights as the rest of us..we not have Maori / part Maori voted onto the Council for crying our loud!
Sally Crown needs to be more respectful to her Mayor if it was me she’d be gone as my deputy who does she imagine she is.
The corruption of WOKE needs to ended… seriously.
Maori wards are one thing, having Maori representation on committees for advice is completely different. Maori are under represented, largely because racist bigots dont vote for Maori candidates on the basis of ‘being Maori’ irrespective of the individuals skills and abilities. Good on Sally Crown, she showed up McGrath to be the blithering idiot that he is. What is the bet she will be Mayor by default. McGrath wont last the term.
McGrath was attempting to follow the will of people who voted no to Maori wards… no work shopping behind closed doors which makes filming and recording a little trick of the trade.
What is embarrassing is the way the council voted and the behavior of the deputy. We see the Councillors that opposed the Mayor they should resign and let democracy and the will of the people take center stage.
Nice wake up for the residence of Napier and how our democracy has been usurped by those Councillors you all voted in and their blatant betrayal perhaps.
Makes it all look like a fiddle (slight of underhand) to the common man.
All good Jason we are uniformed bigots. Not sure Maori wards and special Maori positions on committee’s is that different to be fair.
Sally is 100% out of order as are team Sally to much ego perhaps.
If Sally is Mayor by default then the community have an issue.
How many part Maori on the Council other than Sally and is this a thing?
The most disappointing aspect to that the item of agenda by the Mayor to leave out Maori on the standing committees was the lack of consultation; that was disrespectful to everyone and particularly to Maori & our obligation to honour the Treaty of Waitangi.
It is well known that Maori have been treated badly over the time; we are in the process of healing that; we need to continue on that path and not take backward steps.
The only way is up for Richard McGrath. He’s had a very long runway – 10+ years on Napier City Council – to master the art of forming an idea, building support for it and getting it over the line. He’s been building up to this so long it’s pleasing to see he is at step one: he formed an idea. At his established pace we should expect to see him building support by 2035 and have at least one run on the board by mid-century.
On the campaign trail Richard was asked at a chamber of commerce debate to list his achievements of the past decade. His reply was that he was “sure there’s been some but I can’t recall.” When this 3-year term is over I hope we can all be blessed with similar amnesia.
P.S. It would lift the standard of correspondence to Bay Buzz if writers backed their opinions with their own names. Please ban the use of aliases/nom de plumes.
Wonderful to see the racist bigots of Napier climbing out of the woodwork now they have a Mayor who has similar beliefs. For all our joint history in HB there is a huge number of residents who have racist agendas – dumping of the Maori wards was indicative of this. Since we are against Maori wards perhaps we should also get rid of rural wards etc as well to show “equality” of voting – after all those rural people have the same voting privileges as the rest of us – isn’t that the reason that so many dumped the Maori wards – the “special” nature of that ward which is the same as the special nature of a rural ward and so on. Racism is alive and well in Hawke’s Bay!
Personally I don’t care what ethnicity you are just come through the same channel as every other ethnicity simple really.
Sorry for not agreeing with you Grant but that doesn’t make me or 66% of Hawkes Bay residents racist it makes them democratic.
Maybe this gig is about something entirely different than race……imagine that. Not to worry just put the rates up that’ll help us all because they told us so too.
nothing wrong with a long run up Neil and not moving quickly is currently a blessing rather than a curse in this environment….its good to think big decisions through in a City Council…. there’s no rush …… “Work Shopping” forms ideas by many people with many inputs over a lot of time prior to arriving in front of a Council. The work shopped ideas appear to be to the detriment of the current rate payers and its inter generational and thus we have a new Mayor.
I’m just saying.
Leonie, we pay again and again and again to Maori. It needs to stop. They have enough now. Our country is going broke or being walked over, including Maori who the elites and the no hopers take from. You are part of the problem! You are dividing the country!